Healer Review - Suspense, Romance and Perfection

If you have seen this drama live, you have my sympathies. Like me you would have suffered from anxiety, stress and a whole lot of other emotions. All 20 Episodes of this drama was a nerve wrecking experience. Everytime you think things are going smooth, Bham! A Wrecking ball comes at you. It has been one roller coaster of a ride and worth every minute. Healer has spoiled me for all other Kdramas. It has a strong storyline, stellar cast and an OTP with cute & sizzling chemistry and an addictive OST. I could go on and on about how good this drama is and it would never end. Atleast not in this post. Note to self, never judge a drama by its ratings. I was surprised when I saw that Healer was average approx 9% rating.

Along with an amazing leading cast, they have given us one of the most complicated bad guy - Kim Moon Shik (Here is my analysis of his character). They were certain scenes where I actually sympathized with the guy. But wrong doings come to an end at some time and its sad he was not able to redeem himself. I actually felt a pang of sympathy when I saw him go all Cookoo at the end.

Another aspect I was really amazed was the direction and storytelling. We all know that the story started off from the 1992 incident. The PD has given us enough hints to keep us guessing without letting the curiosity wear off. When you look at the whole storyline, they have dragged about 1 hour of history for 20 episodes without letting us know the exact events yet still keeping us enthralled and curious till the very last minute.

Park Min Young, I have to say, has really become a stellar actor. She has matured so much as a professional that when I was watching her all I could see was Chae Young Shin. She became the character which I feel was lacking in her other dramas. The guy who really made my heart beat a bit faster was Ji Chang Wook, whether he was fighting, speaking or taking his shirt off. It was a treat watching him on screen. He was the perfect Healer, Park Bong Soo and Seo Jung Hoo. As an actor he was able to understand each of the characters and become them without any overlapping. The audience knew who he was and able to differentiate just by his eyes. Oh those Dreamy Eyes!!!! 

uh mmm. Anyhoo, I would like to think of Young Shin and Jung Hoo's relationship like the walk they took episode 17. Where they are walking parallel to each and eventually meet up to hold hands. Wherever they have been before in their lives, it all ended up for them to be together, no matter what.This drama proved that chemistry and storyline can be just as interesting without angst, misunderstanding and noble idiocy. I hope all other writers can take a leaf out of this. I am sort of tired of seeing so many drama couples who "Sacrifices and compromises"for the other person.

I would have liked to see more of Ajumma's past and future. We got a brief glimpse of her life but somehow I was not able to connect. The script uploaded by SJN on her site mentioned how Ajumma knits baby clothes and donates them to orphanages (Courtsey: Soompi Forums). If I dint know that, I would not have understood why she looked so heartbroken when she saw all the sweaters she had to leave behind while fleeing her house. Apart from our OTP, Healer and Ajumma had to have had the most amazing relationship. You almost forget that they have never met and as actors they are in totally different locations.Yong Dong's crush over Ajumma came as a total surprise to me but I loved every moment of it, however short.

Kim Moon Ho was the support and force behind the whole Healer 2.0 team. It's easy to pass him off without realising how important his role was between the past and the present. He was the one who  trapped between what is right and family. However, I was looking at more details as to what prompted him to start searching for CYS 20 years later. From the drama it looked like it seemed to have popped up almost randomly. But happy that he got the ending he deserved.

With Healer come to a satisfying yet rushed end, I can re-watch this drama in peace knowing all everything was settled. All knots were tied up nicely but I wanted to know more. We can assume a lot of things, but I wanted to see Jung Hoo and Young Shin with their respective mothers having a coffee together. And what about Ajumma?? It almost looked like the epilougue was cut due to lack of time. We know that this had happened before with You Who Came From the Stars. But everything made sense and I am happy.

Last but not the least, writer SJN has done a brilliant job with the story. Will be adding this to my favorite list. Looking forward to more of her works. Now the big question. What am I going to do that this is over???